Broken II: A Requiem for Revenge
by Cpt.Fox
Summary: "All I ask is that Papetoon forms an alliance with Venom. You make that happen and your daughter will be alive before the week is over." It has been five months since that day and now Venom controls nearly all of Lylat. Team StarFox appears to be galaxy's only chance of survival, but when an old nightmare returns to haunt them once again, it may be them who need saving.


Author's notes will probably just be at the end of the chapters for this story, but I'll mention just a few things real quick. 1) In case you're confused, I suggest reading over the final chapter of the original "Broken" because it clears all of this up for those of you who might have forgotten. 2) Because of what's going to happen in this story might I suggest checking the top of my profile page for a link to an amazing map of the Lylat System. 3) If you haven't read "Broken"...please go read it now!

000

Chapter One: The Beginning of the End

000

_"So?" the primate questioned, telling the vulpine he was finished with presenting his half of the deal, "What's your answer?"_

_The silence of the massive hall seemed to only add pressure to the situation as the fox continued to take everything in. It was wrong and he knew it, and there was still so much he wanted to ask, so much he wanted to know the answer to. But that wasn't the option presented before him now. No. At this moment he was just given two pieces of information, both of which he knew would affect him for the rest of his life no matter what he did._

_Agree to this offer and see his daughter once again, mending the gaping hole that had formed inside his heart…while at the same time throwing the previously neutral planet of Papetoon into the war to aid Venom._

_Or...decline the offer and probably face immediate death for it, and if not, have only a funeral to look forward to and then a lifetime of pain and heartache._

_The answer was so obvious it almost made him laugh._

_"Okay Oikonny," he managed to reply, his voice wavering but positive, "Do it."_

000

The wooden sides of the podium felt cool to the wolf's touch as he held on to it, gripping it tight and watching as his knuckles changed color. His throat was dry and his heart was pounding. Beads of sweat could be felt across his forehead as well as a sick feeling in his stomach that was impossible to compare even the most nauseous of experiences to. His suit and tie was ragged, his hair unkempt and messy, and his eyes reflected nothing but nervousness and defeat.

Before him stood a single camera, and behind it a fatigued looking rabbit who was frantically rushing across the room and tending to wires and cables. He couldn't help but stare straight into the lens, knowing that in a few seconds billions of creatures would be looking right back at him through it. In the far off distance the sound of an explosion could be heard, gently shaking the entire building before dying off...only for a second, then a third to follow it. Every single one made the lupine cringe and bow his head a little more.

They were close.

"Ambassador?"

The worried, fearful voice caused him to jerk his head back up, locking gazes with the rabbit who was now standing behind the camera with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Is it ready?" the wolf asked calmly, taking a deep breath and trying to compose himself for what he was about to do.

The hare nodded in response, "Every transmission channel on the planet will be overridden once we start." he spoke firmly, "Televisions, radios...anything and everything will be able to hear you."

While that was what they wanted, the lupine couldn't help but grit his teeth in response. In his mind he was trying desperately to come up with something else to say, to avoid speaking the truth to the inhabitants of this planet, to keep their hopes alive. But he'd been doing that for the last two weeks, and at this point he figured none of them would believe his words any longer. They were all well aware of what was happening now. The truth was obvious to anyone who looked up into the sky and saw the thousands upon thousands of ships flying through it.

They were out of time.

As if to provide emphasis to that point, another ground shaking explosion sounded off in the background, causing the lights in the room to flicker. His line of sight returned to the rabbit behind the camera, a look of urgency on his face, both of them well aware that if they were going to say anything to the population of this planet they had to do it now.

"Count me down then." he muttered, stepping up and straightening his stance, taking a deep breath and relishing the last few seconds he had.

He faintly heard the 'beep' that came with starting the feed and then allowed his attention to focus on the rabbit's hand as it slowly counted down from five, falling all the way down to 'two' before falling back to his side. "You're live."

_I can't believe it's come to this..._

On each side of the room he saw the monitors flash to life, the wolf seeing his own form standing within each of them, reminding him of just how pathetic he looked...when just weeks ago he'd been the shining example of wealth and power, of freedom and democracy. So much had happened since then. So much had changed across Lylat in that short time...and here he was, about to deliver a message to not only the inhabitants of this planet, but the rest of the galaxy as well, that would change it even more.

"My fellow Fichinians..." he finally managed to speak, doing his best to sound confident and strong as he repeated the words he'd been rehearsing in his head, "I come to you now, in our planet's darkest hour, with a solemn message to deliver."

At this he couldn't help but already look away, gripping the podium even tighter and cursing himself for allowing things to get this bad. He was the leader of this planet! It was his job to protect it, and the creatures living on it! Yet here he was, admitting defeat, giving up, telling every single one of them that their government and military had failed to do exactly what it was meant to.

"As most of you are well aware of by now..." the lupine managed to continue, looking back at the camera and trying to hold his composure. "Venom and it's forces have taken over nearly every major city on our planet." then, as if fate itself was there to prove the point being made, another earth shattering explosion sounded off a mile or so away, causing the wolf to stagger to the side of the stand before catching himself and gritting his teeth angrily.

"And it's my unfortunate duty to announce that within the hour Extress, our planet's beautiful capital city...will have fallen as well."

Once again he was lying. The chances of the city's forces holding out that long were pitifully small. A half hour...maybe.

After speaking those words another explosion rocked the entire building, the lights flickering once again, promising to go out within minutes. Time was up. He didn't want to breeze through this, he didn't want to lay it all out on the line, telling every watching or listening Fichinian that the planet had been taken over and that it was in Dash's hands that their fate lay. But he had to. It was that, or tell them nothing at all. Leave them guessing as to what was happening across the world, not knowing what was going to happen to them or the planet...or Lylat in general.

This was his only chance to give them the answers they needed.

"That being the case," he continued, clearing his throat and finding the smallest bit of determination, "time is not on our side, and as your leader and ambassador I feel it is my responsibility to make sure each and every one of you know what is happening across all of Lylat...so please...just bear with me here." As he finished the lupine took a deep breath and composed his thoughts once again, not completely sure if he should bother saying all of this, especially in such a dire time...but ultimately knowing it was the best thing he could do at this point. It was the _only _thing he could do at this point.

"It's no secret to anyone that Papetoon allied itself with Venom." he spoke firmly, returning his attention to the camera with an angry fire in his eyes. "Why this happened, however, is a different story. All we know is that the alliance nearly tripled Venom's resources."

Taking another deep breath and ignoring the loud explosions going off outside, the lupine went on, determined to make sure every single one of his planet's living creatures knew what was happening across the galaxy before his time was up. "That alliance was five months ago. Of course this was seen as a threat to all of Lylat, but we were reassured by the leaders of both planets that it was an economic friendship being formed, not militaristic. Unfortunately the leaders of the galaxy's most prestigious planets, myself included, gave both Richard Phoenix _and _Dash Bowman the benefit of the doubt. And one month ago..." he went on, bowing his head and lowering his voice, clenching the podium in anger, "that doubt was justified."

For a second he remained silent, picturing the past few weeks in his mind and feeling the anger and despair building up inside of him. It all seemed like a giant blur, just one big accident that could have been avoided had they been paying attention. But things had almost been calm! Lylat had seemingly entered a rare time of peace and tranquility, and it had been as if none of them wanted to acknowledge the fact that it could end. They'd all been turning the other cheek and ignoring the signs of upcoming danger, not wanting to believe another war would break out due to a simple planetary alliance.

Yet again an explosion shook the building and he noticed the lights flickering, reminding him he had no time to waste in scolding himself.

"After the ruthless takeover of Solar's planetary system Papetoon and Venomian forces turned their attention to Titania and the Sargasso belt...most of you know this already. What most of you may _not _know..." he added angrily, "Is that both Macbeth _and _Zoness turned on the Lylatian Alliance shortly thereafter, successfully cutting us off from each other."

After issuing such words he could easily imagine the looks of disbelief and the gasps of fear overtaking the billions watching. To learn that two of the most mineral rich planets in all of Lylat had joined Venom's forces, and that they provided a weekly window straight through the entire solar system, was perhaps the worst news he'd delivered yet. Macbeth and Zoness were closest to the sun, Lylat, and completed a year in only a few weeks. Their quick paths around the star, if timed right, would allow an effective army to shoot between planets and blitzkrieg anyone and everyone they needed to.

Which was why things weren't looking good for anyone in Lylat right now...especially Katina.

_If Katina falls then Corneria is exposed from that direction, and Fortuna and Aquas are the only two planets that separate it's other side from Sargasso, and neither one of those planets are huge military bases. It's only a matter of time before Venom conquers them as well. Then Corneria will stand alone with Sauria..._

"It was to keep morale up." he explained, trying to excuse himself for hiding the truth to his planet's creatures. "We kept the news of Macbeth's and Zoness's treachery a secret because we were afraid it would affect our own chances of fighting off the attacking Venomian forces at the time. But...that doesn't matter anymore. What matters now is that you all know the truth."

Another blast shook the floor and his gaze flicked over to the large glass windows in the room, watching them crack from the impact of the explosion.

"And the truth is this..." he spoke solemnly, knowing the following words would forever live in infamy. "Fichina has fallen. If given the opportunity, to protect and keep the planet's inhabitants safe, I will concede to an unconditional surrender. Our forces have been all but depleted and the planet is cut off from any form of reinforcements. It is my duty, as leader of this beautiful planet, to keep the best interests of it's people in mind. I know you are watching this Dash. Fichina is willing to lay down it's weapons if you'll accept our surrender and let there be peace. There is no need for-

"Peace?"

The new voice echoed across the room, it's shrill, pompous tone filling the ears of the wolf and immediately causing him to stiffen and jerk his head towards the room's only entrance. He knew the voice, as did most everyone in Lylat by now, but that didn't make it any easier to comprehend. The lupine's eyes widened as he looked over the owner of it, a somewhat short, skinny monkey...wearing a red flight suit, more for show that anything else. His hair was white and his eyes a cold dark blue, seemingly staring right through the wolf's body with their sharpness.

_D-Dash..._

At his side stood guards of monstrous size, armored up and holding nasty looking blasters against their chest, eying the room suspiciously. But the lupine paid them hardly no mind, only looking away from the monkey before him when a shot rang out through the room. Quickly his eyes looked over at their target, widening even further as he watched the rabbit who'd been working the camera fall to the ground, staring up at the ceiling lifelessly. In response the wolf slowly began stepping backwards, getting only a few feet before feeling himself up against another large mass, turning to see what looked to be a stallion staring down at him with hateful eyes.

_H-how'd they get in here?_

"There will _never _be peace in Lylat my dear Felix." Dash finally finished, smirking at the lupine as he was forced to stand his ground, watching as the monkey slowly padded up to the podium and turned to face the camera. "Not so long as fools like you and those heading the Lylatian Alliance are in control. But..." he went on, shooting a grin at the wolf. "that won't be the case for much longer now will it?"

"Please..." the lupine managed to ask, stepping forward and swallowing the knot in his throat, "Stop this. Fichina is yours, just end the fighting. There's no need for more innocent-

"No one is innocent Felix, you know that." the anthropoid cut in smoothly, "In fact, all of Lylat knows that, don't they?" he finished by looking out towards the camera, knowing as well as the wolf that the broadcast was being aired across, not just the planet, but more than likely the entire galaxy as well. "Just like all of Lylat will soon know that Venom's time to rule has come!"

After the words were spoken by the simian so did a mass of cheers and gunfire erupt all around the building, the lupine's eyes widening even further as he looked out out through the cracked windows and saw companies upon companies of Venomian soldiers sitting atop of tanks and fighters...proving that the city hadn't been able to hold out even the thirty minutes he'd given it. Their own army, the Fichinian Interplanetary Defense Force, had been one of the best military factions in all of Lylat, yet they'd done hardly anything to stop, or even slow, the army that Dash had built.

_They're unstoppable..._

"Much like Papetoon, much like Macbeth, Zoness, Titania, and Sargasso...Fichina has fallen to Venom's unstoppable forces!" he spoke on boastfully, getting another loud cheer from the thousands of troops outside, "They have all witnessed the power of the name Oikonny once again! But..." the monkey added, his voice softening immediately as he cast a smirk over at the terrified wolf before looking back at the camera, "Unlike my grandfather, the legendary Andross himself, I will _not _fail."

Yet again blaster fire and cheers rang out through the building, the lights flickering slightly but only causing Dash to smirk happily as he looked straight ahead into the camera, and into the eyes of nearly everyone in the Lylat System.

"Heed my words Corneria." the simian muttered coldly, as if he were looking into General Pepper's eyes, "Surrender yourself to Venom and spare the billions of lives that would so foolishly be wasted otherwise. You see how easily Titania and Fichina have fallen before me, and Fortuna and Aquas are no match for my armies either, no matter how many troops and fighters you have waiting for us...isn't that right Felix?"

At this the power-crazed ape glanced over at him, the lupine still standing off to the side with wide fearful eyes. He heard a movement to he left and looked over to see one of the soldiers manning the camera, panning it over to him, making sure that all of Lylat saw the full effect of Dash's words. The wolf, however, could only stare it with lifeless, broken eyes...seemingly begging the watching armies and creatures across the galaxy to help him in this dark hour, not knowing what to do anymore.

He was right. Their army had been no match for Venom's. No one, not even the most pessimistic of his generals, could have predicted the size of the force they were up against. It had only been a few months...why...no..._how _did Dash do it? _How_ could he build up such a fighting force? _Where _did he get all these weapons and tanks and fighters? Sure the alliance with Papetoon had strengthened their forces a little, but it couldn't have possibly been this much! Papetoon didn't have the resources to make _this _happen over the course of five months!

Seeing that he wasn't going to reply Dash merely chuckled, the camera panning back over to him now, leaving the wolf, and what little resolve and confidence he had left in himself, shattered to pieces.

"You cannot stop me." the ape spoke smugly, his eyes dancing with darkness and contentment, "Fichina is under Venom's control now, and soon the rest of Lylat will follow suit. My grandfather's reign will be reborn and Lylat will enter a new era of prosperity and opulence! Venom will rule all, and all will bow down to it!"

The chimp smirked at the roar of applause and gunfire outside the building, shooting a glance over at the slumped and defeated form of the wolf and narrowing his gaze in pleasure.

"So heed my words Lylat." he concluded, a cold promising tone on his voice as he stared back ahead. "Surrender to me. Surrender to Venom. Accept your fate and join us, or suffer the same consequences as the creatures on Fichina."

No sooner had the planet's name been spoken did the power finally flicker and die off, leaving a smirking Dash Bowman standing up at the podium, knowing he'd just chilled billions of animals to the bone with his words. Slowly he turned away from the camera, focusing his attention back on the wolf who had originally started the planet-wide message. The lupine tried to hold his gaze but ended up looking at the ground almost immediately. He was ashamed. Ashamed that he was so terrified of this pathetic little monkey, when he knew he was nothing more than an animal abusing his power. He wanted to lash out, to break the simian's neck, to kill him right then and there and possibly put a stop to all of this...but no sooner had that urge appeared did he feel the barrel of a blaster being pressed against the back of his skull, causing him to whimper and fall to his knees.

"It's a shame..." the ape murmured, looking down at him evilly, "I rather liked you Felix. You were one of the few leaders of the Lylatian Alliance that I was going to spare once this was all said and done. I had a nice little office job in mind for you and everything. Public relations perhaps...

At this the lupine couldn't help but growl in anger, despite his compromising position. But the act only instigated a chuckle from the Venomian general, while simultaneously the blaster against the back of his skull was pressed forward with more promising force.

"But you had to defy me." he muttered sadly, shaking his head in disappointment. "I gave you the chance to join Venom and you so stupidly declined."

"And I'd do it again." the lupine snarled, finding confidence with every insult being thrown at him.

"Would you?" Dash asked, stopping his pacing and looking back at the wolf. "Tell me Felix, do you know how many of your troops and fighters my forces shot down in the two weeks it took for us to conquer Fichina? Go ahead, take a guess."

The ambassador merely growled again, curling his lip and bowing his head, thinking of numbers in his head but not about to give the ape the pleasure of surpassing any number he might speak aloud. He was sure it was one sided. His own forces had lost practically every battle they'd been a part of, having to retreat to the few remaining major cities and stockpile ammunition and troops for a final stand in nearly every case...including today. Honestly, he figured Fichinian losses were close to a million...and that was being conservative.

"No idea?" the ape questioned, kneeling down and getting face to face with the lupine. "How about three million? Does that seem right to you?"

"Impossible-

"Wrong again!" the monkey declared with an evil laugh, standing back up and pacing back and forth, "You see Felix, I'm going to teach Lylat a lesson the hard way. If you defy me, or Venom, you _will_ be annihilated...Fichina will be a shining example of that...which is a shame. It was such a beautiful planet after McCloud fixed the weather generators."

"He'll stop you, just like he stopped your grandfather!" the wolf blurted out, realizing he'd probably sealed his fate going by how quickly the simian before him stiffened and stopped in his tracks.

But where he expected a brutal recoil, where he expected Dash to give the order for the soldier behind him to pull the trigger, he instead got nothing other than deep chuckle. He narrowed his angry gaze at the monkey, watching as he bowed his head and clenched his fists, a smirk coming over his face as he mentally envisioned the vulpine that had so famously killed his grandfather.

"McCloud..." he finally muttered, still grinning to himself as he pictured the vulpine, and then allowing the image of Richard Phoenix to enter his thoughts as well. "McCloud will have far more important things to worry about soon enough. He will be of no use to Lylat by the time this is over."

"Good. Underestimate him, just like your foolish grandfather. He'll prove you wrong once again, he'll stop y-

The ape's eyes slowly opened, looking down at his silver flight boots and admiring the specs of blood that had splattered over them. Seconds later the sound of a body falling lifelessly to the floor reached his ears and he allowed a small grin to tug on his lips before straightening his stance and glancing over at the soldier who had pulled the trigger.

"Let's go." he spoke coldly, "We're done with this planet. Time to move on to the next."

After speaking the words the chimp turned for the exit, his elite squadron of Venomian troops falling in at his side without speaking a word. Fichina was done, and pathetically so. In most cases it took two weeks to seize one city alone, much less the entire planet, but that just proved Venom's power at this point. It just proved how unstoppable they were. In truth, the ape had nothing to worry about. Taking over Fortuna and Aquas would be much easier than Fichina, unless Cornerian forces had bettered their defenses in that time. But still, nothing would be close to enough to stop him.

Still...the wolf's words lingered in his head, and he couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit of apprehension from them. Fox McCloud, Team StarFox, had done the impossible on more than one occasion. They'd thwarted plan after plan made by his grandfather, and then the Aparoids, and to most of Lylat they were probably the only thing still giving them a reason to defy Venom's undeniable destiny.

But no sooner had that slight fear arrived was it erased.

If Team StarFox truly was Lylat's ace in the hole, then all he'd have to do is find it's weakness. The one thing that could destroy that team...that already _had _destroyed that team...would be all it took to rid himself of Fox McCloud once and for all. And as he made his way down the abandoned hallways of Fichina's capital building he couldn't help but picture that thing, as clear as day, in his mind. That brown vixen, the only daughter of Richard Phoenix, who had came within inches of killing every single member of Team StarFox...

She was that weakness.

_And she won't fail a second time._

000

Author's note: Well there's the start. Had kind of a prologue feeling to it didn't it? Oh well. I figured starting off by laying out the whole situation and all that was the best thing to do. Next chapter will focus on the team and what's happened since "Broken" ended, and after that things will just keep hitting the fan. I'm going to go ahead and mention that 1) this story is going to be very very long. 2) i probably won't update it for another month unless the feedback is surprising 3) I'm still working on finishing "Fate" and continuing "The Right Reasons"

So there's the start if nothing else. Things in Lylat are bad and are just going to get worse. Much, much worse.

Oh and thanks a million to **Emile the Watcher **and **Sharptail **for looking this over for me and sharing their opinions and pointing out those stupid grammar mistakes.


End file.
